BERGFREE ADVENTURES NEWSLETTER NUMBER 133 19 December 2011 Misty Bannerman’s Giant’s Castle uKhahlamba Drakensberg 9 – 11 December 2011 S.A & Scottish Hikers Laurie contacted me quite some time ago to organize a 3 day trip into The Drakensberg. Her party was not too sure of their fitness levels, so we had to plan a reasonably easy hike. The problem in the Drakensberg is that to spend 3 days in the mountains, most routes are fairly hard to get to different caves each night. However , we planned to go to the Giants Castle area, and explore around there. The weather predictions were not great for most of the 3 days, with plenty of cloud, and rain predicted. Hiking in wet misty conditions cane be a bit miserable unless one has a good base to stay at, and work from there. I had booked the Bannerman’s Hut for the 2 nights that we would be in the mountains. On the appointed morning we met in cool overcast weather at Giants Main camp , and headed up to the hut. The weather got worse as we climbed higher, and soon we were hiking in nil visibility and rainy conditions. The hut was a welcome place to reach, dry clothes changed for wet ones, lunch was had, and then we turned in for a good afternoons rest while the rain and cold took hold outside. Later after a bit of card playing, supper was prepared, and while that was on , a bit of impromptu dance steps took place. Then supper and more cards, and later we settled into our sleeping bags, while outside the weather was not on its best behavior. Next morning a heavy cloud layer prevented a sunrise, but later it seemed to want to clear, so we decided to climb the Bannerman’s Pass to visit Spare Rib cave half way up the pass. The weather seemed to want to hold, but – not for long, - a fresh water stop was very welcome, with fresh water straight out of the rocks. The mist rolled in , and covered any hope of seeing anything around us. Below, the usual small stream up here was a roaring torrent, and as the mist drifted in and out flashes of waterfalls and flowers were to be seen below us. We pressed on upwards through the thick mist to where I thought the cave was, unfortunately , and as always, heavy mist and steep places in the Drakensberg do not go together. As we climbed higher – our altitude gain hidden by the mist, I realized that we had climbed too high. Along the way, a comforting word of encouragement was given to one of our party. Suddenly the mist cleared and we could see the top of the pass, at the same time confirming my suspicions that we were too high, and so as we sat down to catch our breath, before turning around to head back down to the cave , the mist closed us in into a grey blanket of nothingness. From nowhere a rumble of thunder was heard, then another, and a fine sleet started to fall for a short while, then the rain came . We decided to give the cave a mist , and head back down to the hut. A little later the rain stopped, and we eventually reached the hut. Hot soup, dry clothes – and we felt much better. Then the rain really started, and while we were tucked up in our sleeping bags, the afternoon poured away with wet and very cold conditions. The next morning an amazing sunrise greeted us, however , the colour of the sunrise suggested that an afternoon storm could be the menu. After breakfast we packed up to return back to the cars by a different route. The high berg was clear, the flowers in the little valleys were beautiful , making it hard to remember the poor weather we had hiked up in A while later the clouds started to build , climbing up the Giant, and covering the high berg around us to Bannerman’s Pass and right back to Monk’s Cowl , Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peak behind us. We were privileged to see a pair of Oribi jump up ahead of us , and run down the mountain side, and a little later a magnificent lone Eland bull grazing peacefully on the mountain side. Later lunch was had in a cool shady place, before we decided to put our best feet forward and with a bit of speed make for the cars. However , a short while later while walking through very long grass , the shedded skin of rather a large puff adder was found on our path . Not a nice thought that this snake could be around , and we would not be able to see it in the thick tall grass. Later , the last stop on a ridge before we dropped down to the Bushman’s river, gave us a great view of part of the Bushman Valley , and the high berg that stretched around us, with menacing storm clouds everywhere. Despite the weather, a great trip. My congratulations to my hiking companions for their great spirit over the 3 days, despite, mist , rain, sleet, cold, and hot conditions, they made the best of every situation. A word to Jade , congratulations, you did very well , and was up there with us all the time. You did great – well done. The Drakensberg is not a place to venture unprepared. Go prepared , and enjoy the greatness of the mountains. May we meet again sometime. Bergfree Adventures www.bergfree.co.za ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~